Wang Xichang, a veteran of Whampoa, had a personal experience in which he witnessed the squad leader retreat 300 Japanese soldiers and save the lives of the commander and his comrades. Wang Xichang said this:
In mid-May 1940, the Japanese invaders mobilized a large army to sweep and sweep the 22nd Group Army defending the Xianghua Highway, and the headquarters of the 22nd Group Army was stationed in Zaoyang County at that time, and the commander-in-chief Sun Zhen was also the commander of the 41st Army.
The army command post was set up in Tangxian Town, Suixian County, and Zeng Suyuan, commander of the 124th Division, acted as deputy commander and served as the commander of the army command post. The headquarters of the 124th Division is stationed in Wanfudian, Suixian, Cai Yu, the commander of the 370th Regiment, is stationed in Lishan, Suixian, Yan Zhangfu, the commander of the 371st Regiment, is stationed in Shangshidian, Suixian, and Xiong Shunyi, the commander of the 372nd Regiment, is stationed in Shazigang, Suixian.
At four o'clock in the morning one night, Deputy Commander Zeng asked Adjutant Luo Rongyi to call me and said to me:
"Platoon Commander Wang, the 370th Regiment has been fighting fiercely with the enemy in Lishan and other places for three days, and the casualties on both sides are very large, and the division headquarters has sent the 371st Regiment to reinforce it. Now I received a telephone call from Regiment Commander Cai, saying that the enemy had suffered heavy losses due to the attack on Lishan, and had changed his strategy and sent another unit to advance to our army along the south of the highway. You lead a squad of soldiers with two plainclothes spy soldiers, quickly go to Duanjiao Temple to search for any hostile situation, find out and report, there must be no mistakes!"
On the battlefield, the military situation is like fire, and the military order is like Mount Tai pressing on the top, and there is no room for the slightest hesitation. I immediately followed the order and ran towards Duanjiao Temple with a squad of soldiers, carrying machine guns and enough grenades, and two plainclothes men.
The battle situation was really tense, although it was midnight, the fleeing peasants helped the old and the young, and led the cattle and sheep, and the situation was very miserable. We were led by fellow villagers, and before dawn we arrived at the Chenjia Temple in a certain mountain, and I ordered the whole class to rest on the ground and stand by.
The Duanjiao Temple is located at the foot of this mountain, and I led the squad leader Xie Fuyuan and the scouts to the Duanjiao Temple to reconnoiter the enemy's situation. By then, it was already dawning, the trees around the temple were dense and easy to hide, and the temple was crowded with refugees. When the refugees saw the army coming, they were filled with joy and sorrow.
An old lady in her late teens took her granddaughter and kowtowed to us, begging us to get rid of the Japanese devils so that they could return home as soon as possible. We comforted the old man and inquired about the devil's traces. The old man told him that five or six miles away from here, the devil was running here.
I told the refugees to leave quickly, and it was too late for the devils to catch up. After the refugees left the Duanjiao Temple, I took out the red flag and waved it, and transferred a group of soldiers on standby in the Chenjia Temple, and told them to cook quickly and eat their stomachs, and prepare to meet the Japanese army. I took the squad leader and spy soldiers to reconnoiter the terrain and the enemy's situation.
After returning and resting for a while, before the cook's noodles were cooked, the sentry hurriedly came to report: "The enemy has been found on the road about 800 meters from here. "There were simple fortifications here, and I ordered the soldiers to quickly enter the position, and the squad leader and I, each armed with a light machine gun, aimed at the place where the Japanese were coming.
There was a group of Japanese soldiers on the main road, numbering about 10 people. After rounding the grove, more Japanese soldiers loomed behind them. The Japanese soldiers crept up the hill with small strips of white cloth tied around their heads.
The enemy was getting closer and closer, and was already approaching the range of the machine gun, so I ordered the squad leader to shoot, but the squad leader Xie Fuyuan did not move. After a little thought, he said:
"Our task was reconnaissance and we did not receive an order to fight. If we shoot, the enemy will know that we are weak. We are all infantry, and the Japanese army hides in the woods with an unknown number of people, and looking at the enemy's situation as if they are elite, we may be annihilated. ”
"The Japanese army mobilized elite soldiers to come, and they must go to the army command post, and if the Japanese army is spared, the deputy commander and his brothers will suffer a great disaster. Now that the drawdown notice is transferred, it is too late in time. Caught between a dilemma, there is only one way to take the risk. ”
I listened to his analysis, and suddenly felt that it was reasonable, the squad leader was worthy of being a veteran, and he was really thoughtful. My reckless order just now almost killed the whole class of brothers and the military headquarters, and the consequences were really unimaginable.
Xie Fuyuan, the squad leader, said: The soldiers are not tired of deceit, and there is only one plan at the moment, let all the soldiers evacuate and lay down doubts. Carrying guns all over the mountain, the bigger the noise, the better, struggling to shake the mountain woods, provoking birds and beasts to scurry. The Japanese did not know how many ambushes there were in the mountains, so they must have been afraid.
The Japanese invaders were unfamiliar with the terrain, and when they saw that the mountains were full of soldiers, they would inevitably hesitate. The Japanese troops were lightly armed and did not have heavy weapons on their bodies, so we deliberately let them see the machine guns to let them know that our army had been prepared for a long time and was heavily guarded. The enemy will suspect that there is an ambush and will not dare to attack easily.
These tactics are also known as "empty city strategies", which are often used in Sun Tzu's Art of War and the Tales of the Three Kingdoms, and are used by Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei to scare off Cao Bing. The matter of war, ancient and modern. For the sake of today, this is the only way to go.
When I heard that his opinion was correct, I followed the plan, and sent a messenger to report to the deputy commander, and another spy to mix in with the common people to continue to reconnoiter the enemy's movements.
At about eleven o'clock, the spy reported that "the enemy army has turned around and is searching in the direction of Zaoyang County." When the Japanese troops withdrew, it became clear that there were a large number of people, and there were about 300 people in front and back. ”
The words of the spy soldier made me break out in a cold sweat, if I had chosen to fight hard, the soldiers in this class would be dead at this moment, and the Japanese army would inevitably rush down the mountain after taking the Duanjiao Temple, and the deputy commander and others would be difficult to resist, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Japanese army went to Zaoyang County, where the headquarters of the group army and heavy troops were stationed, and these 300 Japanese troops posed no threat to them. This operation of the Japanese army must have ended in failure.
After we withdrew to the Tangxian Town Station, we reported the situation to the deputy commander and won the commendation of the deputy commander. In particular, squad leader Xie Fuyuan responded to the enemy with tact, scaring off 300 Japanese soldiers with an empty city, relieving the crisis in the military headquarters and keeping the command post safe and sound.
In accordance with the order of receiving awards for meritorious service, the deputy commander promoted Xie Fuyuan's squad leader to second lieutenant platoon commander. As an experienced veteran, Xie Fuyuan's promotion is well deserved, and he is a very wise person.
Decades have passed, and the memories of platoon commander Wang Xichang are still yesterday, and the courage and wisdom of the anti-Japanese soldiers are really awe-inspiring.
It is precisely because of these wise and brave soldiers who are fighting that we finally won the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and their names and deeds are worthy of being remembered by future generations......